tiggerwannabe
~Optimistic Realist~
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2002
- Messages
- 12,619
Hello Disneylanders! 
My name is Colleen and this is my trip report.
This is a story of two Moms and two 18yo daughters going to California for the first time ever. All four of us are lifetime east coasters. We've visited Disneyworld many, many, times together.
I've been sharing all of my pretrip preparations over on the WDW trip report forum and would love to also share with all of you. I'd love to hear what you all think of my plans.
Rose, Stefanie, Brittany and I are touring a good part of California over the course of 11 days. We start in San Francisco, are visiting San Jose, Monterey, Hollywood, Anaheim, La Jolla, Coronado Springs and San Diego.
We leave in 15 days 
Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1341725
and Here's our story:
Our final itinerary....I think
Crew recap:
Me-Tiggerwannabe (Colleen), forever 18yo Mother of two.
DD-Fletchermem0rial (Brittany) here on the DIS, actually 18yo,
skateboarder wannabe.
Rose-My best friend (by default-our sons and daughters grew up together
and are each best friends with each other.) Traveler extraordinaire,
facilitator of said journey.
Stefanie-18yo DD to Rose, Best Friend to my DD. College student,
bartender wannabe. (She recently took classes on how to be one and is totally into it for the money.)
The Agenda:
5/24 DD & Me fly to San Jose, arrive around noon-ish, and get picked up by my DISer friend Nan. We do lunch, pick up her kids from school, then when her hubby gets home they are delivering us to the Holiday Inn Express at the Wharf in San Francisco.
Britt and me will probably walk the city a bit and get some grub at the Wharf or Pier39. I expect this to be an early night for us since we have to leave the house at 4am to catch our 6:30am flight.
Rose has to work in the AM so she and Stef are taking off from Philly around dinner time, scheduled to arrive in San Francisco around 9:30 Cali time. They are shuttling it to the HIE.
5/25 Breakfast at The Wharf (with Bride2007 and new hubby?) Tour San Francisco. We're doing the real tourist thing here...Golden Gate Bridge, Trolley Cars, Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Haight & Ashbury...the works. Nan got us tickets to a San Francisco Giants game and will be joining us at the stadium around 6:30 so we can catch warm-ups and grab some dinner. (For those that don't know-my family is cruising with the Skjervens for New Years at the end of 2008.) A Family we met here on the DIS will also be joining us at the game. We talk to the Mom (Debbie-aka Bride2007) on our cruising thread and are looking forward to meeting them for the first time.
5/26 We are checking out early and doing the Alcatraz Tour. We have tickets for the 9am Ferry... all four of us are totally into history so this place should be Cool~
After the tour Rose is shuttling back to the San Francisco International Airport to get us a rental car. When she returns, we are going to San Jose. We got a dinner date (Rock Bottom Brew Club?) with the Skjervens at the Pruneyard in San Jose, which is also where we are staying the night, and then we go see Pirates of The Caribbean - At Worlds End
5/27 Time to Go to Disneyland! The Skjervens are flying to Anaheim. Rose, the girls and me are driving the Pacific Coast Highway to Anaheim. We'll be checking out of the Pruneyard early and driving to Monterey for breakfast. Rose and I want to see as much of California as we can and what better way than to drive the PCH.
We expect to get to DL and check in at the Best Western Park Plaza Inn by dinnertime. Nan, Paul, Wilson and Molly should already be there when we arrive. There is one more family (we hope) meeting us at the BWPP. Grimgrinnin and Minnigrl and their beautiful cruise "souvenir" Piper are planning to be there. Grim recently got a new job and unless his "break between projects" happens at just the right time, we know they will have to cancel.
What we do depends on if DL sells out for the day (it is Memorial Day weekend.) Brittany and I have tickets to DL/DCa for 3 days and Rose only bought herself 2. If we can, Britt, the Skjervens and I want to go to the parks. Rose and Stefanie will do their own thing the first night. She has a car for this leg of the trip and would easily just get into the car and drive herself wherever she wants to go. If the park is sold out, Rose, Stef, Britt and me will probably hit ESPN zone and then play the rest of the evening by ear.
I'm really hoping it's not sold out or we can at least get into DCA cause that's the only night the Electric Light Parade is scheduled to run during our 3 day stay in Anaheim.
5/28 Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Nan's daughter Molly will be our tour guide for the day. They have set the agenda since they know the parks so well (they are AP holders and use them quite frequently.) The Best Western offers continental breakfast, we'll take advantage of that for breakfast, have lunch on the fly (can you say Corn Dog King?) and have ressies at Ariel's Grotto at 7pm for dinner.
My goal, and only reason for booking Ariel's, is to get that perfect DCA sunset shot. If you've ever checked the pictures on the DL boards you may see what I mean. The sun sets just behind Screamin and the Ferris Wheel and makes for a perfect shot of a California sunset.
The Dreams Come True Fireworks are scheduled for 9:25 and thats most likely how we will end our second day at DL.
5/29 DL/DCA again. Brittany and I are ride fanatics. Our mission is to hit all of the top rides and then as many of the rest as is humanly possible-which totally depends on the crowds. Fastpass runners have already been designated, we are ready to go. I know Disney has some really cool shows, so for this trip our must see show is Aladdin. At the end of today, our friends the Skjervens, are going home.
I expect to thoroughly enjoy our time with the family and will sorely miss them when they go. Nan's kids are little yet and have to get back to school.
Our ressies for this evening are at The Blue Bayou. I was told on the DL board that of all the restaurants in DL, Blue Bayou is the Best. We have early ressies tonight. That continental breakfast will only hold for so long. Lite snacks might be necessary; Popcorn, French fries and Dole Whips Oh My! Our ressie is at 4pm and after dinner I expect well try to catch the 630 Parade of Dreams before we end our last day at Disney.
Sometime on the 29th, we are checking out of the BWPP and headed to Roses timeshare at Fairfield. Its only a mile away from the parks and as I said, well have a car. I have a feeling Rose and Stefanie will take advantage of the transfer and head off on their own. Rose and Stef are really into Disney but shes already told me she doubts theyll do two *full* days there. The tickets Rose got for USH gives them two days at that park. I also have a feeling that that is where theyll wind up after they leave us to do the transfer.
5/30 Universal Studios and Hollywood tour! Brittany and I have tickets for one day at Universal and this is the day slotted to go. This part of the schedule is a flexible one. If we dont get to the park on the 30th, well go the 31st and then head to San Diego. Hollywood and LA are another must see on our list. The list includes Hollywood, LA, Ventura Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and maybe even Santa Monica pier. Wed need a full day to do all of that Im sure. San Diego is not that far of a ride from Anaheim and we could easily do USH and then head to our next destination. We only have to check in...so no worries there.
Stefanie applied for tickets to see The Price is Right. We havent heard anything back from them tho. Ive been checking free tv tickets .com to see if we can get into any other shows but not too much is taping while we are there. We are still holding out for TPIR cause thats what Stefanie REALLY wants to do.
5/31 We leave for San Diego. Possible USH day. Rose booked her Fairfield timeshare at the Harbor in SD. The resort is right on the water and claims the best view in the area. This should be another opportunity for me to get some good sunset shots. We live on the East coast and getting up for sunrise is not my cup-o-tea. Sunsets in California are one of the biggest things I personally am looking forward, this still comes in second, my first love is Disney.
6/1 Last day we have the rental car. Beach Day! La Jolla and Coronado are our destinations for this part of the trip. These are the BEST beaches, Im told, in the area. My crew LOVES the beach. This will be our day to really enjoy it California style, I pray for good weather cause after this, well have no more car.
6/2 San Diego Zoo! I got the public transportation schedules so we can get ourselves there and back. I hear this place is huge so the Zoo is the only thing on our game plan for the day. Our travels will be ending soon. This is where I will make a point to relax. Id hate to come home from such a fabulous vacation feeling like I never had one at all. (I get to go back to work the morning after we get home-I can already see I'm gonna be good for crap either way.)
6/3 Our last day in Cali This is the day we go to Sea World. Another public transportation day and then relaxing when were done. SW is another park that our families really love. I cant wait to check it out~
6/4 is the day we go home. Our flight leaves at 6:30 in the am. Our plane leaves so early the public transportation wont even be running yet. I got the numbers of a couple of shuttle services. Itll cost us about $25 a piece. Not too bad for somebody whos willing to come get us at 4 o clock in the morning.
Our trip is approaching fast and I think we are all ready to go. Once the luggage I ordered from Disney gets here Ill be able to really start packing. As you can see, our itinerary is set. We are looking forward to a fabulous time, this trip is really a dream come true.
Ill have tons of pictures to share and maybe a story or two. If I learned anything from my favorite trip reporters, its if nothing good happens to make something up. I hope you all enjoyed riding this pre-trip journey with me. I certainly enjoyed writing it what comes after? We very soon shall see.
Love You Guys! Mean It!
Catch yall on the flip side~
c.
My name is Colleen and this is my trip report.
This is a story of two Moms and two 18yo daughters going to California for the first time ever. All four of us are lifetime east coasters. We've visited Disneyworld many, many, times together.
I've been sharing all of my pretrip preparations over on the WDW trip report forum and would love to also share with all of you. I'd love to hear what you all think of my plans.
Rose, Stefanie, Brittany and I are touring a good part of California over the course of 11 days. We start in San Francisco, are visiting San Jose, Monterey, Hollywood, Anaheim, La Jolla, Coronado Springs and San Diego.
We leave in 15 days Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1341725
and Here's our story:
Our final itinerary....I think
Crew recap:
Me-Tiggerwannabe (Colleen), forever 18yo Mother of two.
DD-Fletchermem0rial (Brittany) here on the DIS, actually 18yo,
skateboarder wannabe.
Rose-My best friend (by default-our sons and daughters grew up together
and are each best friends with each other.) Traveler extraordinaire,
facilitator of said journey.
Stefanie-18yo DD to Rose, Best Friend to my DD. College student,
bartender wannabe. (She recently took classes on how to be one and is totally into it for the money.)
The Agenda:
5/24 DD & Me fly to San Jose, arrive around noon-ish, and get picked up by my DISer friend Nan. We do lunch, pick up her kids from school, then when her hubby gets home they are delivering us to the Holiday Inn Express at the Wharf in San Francisco.
Britt and me will probably walk the city a bit and get some grub at the Wharf or Pier39. I expect this to be an early night for us since we have to leave the house at 4am to catch our 6:30am flight.
Rose has to work in the AM so she and Stef are taking off from Philly around dinner time, scheduled to arrive in San Francisco around 9:30 Cali time. They are shuttling it to the HIE.
5/25 Breakfast at The Wharf (with Bride2007 and new hubby?) Tour San Francisco. We're doing the real tourist thing here...Golden Gate Bridge, Trolley Cars, Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Haight & Ashbury...the works. Nan got us tickets to a San Francisco Giants game and will be joining us at the stadium around 6:30 so we can catch warm-ups and grab some dinner. (For those that don't know-my family is cruising with the Skjervens for New Years at the end of 2008.) A Family we met here on the DIS will also be joining us at the game. We talk to the Mom (Debbie-aka Bride2007) on our cruising thread and are looking forward to meeting them for the first time.
5/26 We are checking out early and doing the Alcatraz Tour. We have tickets for the 9am Ferry... all four of us are totally into history so this place should be Cool~
After the tour Rose is shuttling back to the San Francisco International Airport to get us a rental car. When she returns, we are going to San Jose. We got a dinner date (Rock Bottom Brew Club?) with the Skjervens at the Pruneyard in San Jose, which is also where we are staying the night, and then we go see Pirates of The Caribbean - At Worlds End 5/27 Time to Go to Disneyland! The Skjervens are flying to Anaheim. Rose, the girls and me are driving the Pacific Coast Highway to Anaheim. We'll be checking out of the Pruneyard early and driving to Monterey for breakfast. Rose and I want to see as much of California as we can and what better way than to drive the PCH.
We expect to get to DL and check in at the Best Western Park Plaza Inn by dinnertime. Nan, Paul, Wilson and Molly should already be there when we arrive. There is one more family (we hope) meeting us at the BWPP. Grimgrinnin and Minnigrl and their beautiful cruise "souvenir" Piper are planning to be there. Grim recently got a new job and unless his "break between projects" happens at just the right time, we know they will have to cancel.
What we do depends on if DL sells out for the day (it is Memorial Day weekend.) Brittany and I have tickets to DL/DCa for 3 days and Rose only bought herself 2. If we can, Britt, the Skjervens and I want to go to the parks. Rose and Stefanie will do their own thing the first night. She has a car for this leg of the trip and would easily just get into the car and drive herself wherever she wants to go. If the park is sold out, Rose, Stef, Britt and me will probably hit ESPN zone and then play the rest of the evening by ear.
I'm really hoping it's not sold out or we can at least get into DCA cause that's the only night the Electric Light Parade is scheduled to run during our 3 day stay in Anaheim.
5/28 Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Nan's daughter Molly will be our tour guide for the day. They have set the agenda since they know the parks so well (they are AP holders and use them quite frequently.) The Best Western offers continental breakfast, we'll take advantage of that for breakfast, have lunch on the fly (can you say Corn Dog King?) and have ressies at Ariel's Grotto at 7pm for dinner.
My goal, and only reason for booking Ariel's, is to get that perfect DCA sunset shot. If you've ever checked the pictures on the DL boards you may see what I mean. The sun sets just behind Screamin and the Ferris Wheel and makes for a perfect shot of a California sunset.
The Dreams Come True Fireworks are scheduled for 9:25 and thats most likely how we will end our second day at DL.
5/29 DL/DCA again. Brittany and I are ride fanatics. Our mission is to hit all of the top rides and then as many of the rest as is humanly possible-which totally depends on the crowds. Fastpass runners have already been designated, we are ready to go. I know Disney has some really cool shows, so for this trip our must see show is Aladdin. At the end of today, our friends the Skjervens, are going home.
I expect to thoroughly enjoy our time with the family and will sorely miss them when they go. Nan's kids are little yet and have to get back to school. Our ressies for this evening are at The Blue Bayou. I was told on the DL board that of all the restaurants in DL, Blue Bayou is the Best. We have early ressies tonight. That continental breakfast will only hold for so long. Lite snacks might be necessary; Popcorn, French fries and Dole Whips Oh My! Our ressie is at 4pm and after dinner I expect well try to catch the 630 Parade of Dreams before we end our last day at Disney.
Sometime on the 29th, we are checking out of the BWPP and headed to Roses timeshare at Fairfield. Its only a mile away from the parks and as I said, well have a car. I have a feeling Rose and Stefanie will take advantage of the transfer and head off on their own. Rose and Stef are really into Disney but shes already told me she doubts theyll do two *full* days there. The tickets Rose got for USH gives them two days at that park. I also have a feeling that that is where theyll wind up after they leave us to do the transfer.
5/30 Universal Studios and Hollywood tour! Brittany and I have tickets for one day at Universal and this is the day slotted to go. This part of the schedule is a flexible one. If we dont get to the park on the 30th, well go the 31st and then head to San Diego. Hollywood and LA are another must see on our list. The list includes Hollywood, LA, Ventura Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and maybe even Santa Monica pier. Wed need a full day to do all of that Im sure. San Diego is not that far of a ride from Anaheim and we could easily do USH and then head to our next destination. We only have to check in...so no worries there.
Stefanie applied for tickets to see The Price is Right. We havent heard anything back from them tho. Ive been checking free tv tickets .com to see if we can get into any other shows but not too much is taping while we are there. We are still holding out for TPIR cause thats what Stefanie REALLY wants to do.
5/31 We leave for San Diego. Possible USH day. Rose booked her Fairfield timeshare at the Harbor in SD. The resort is right on the water and claims the best view in the area. This should be another opportunity for me to get some good sunset shots. We live on the East coast and getting up for sunrise is not my cup-o-tea. Sunsets in California are one of the biggest things I personally am looking forward, this still comes in second, my first love is Disney.
6/1 Last day we have the rental car. Beach Day! La Jolla and Coronado are our destinations for this part of the trip. These are the BEST beaches, Im told, in the area. My crew LOVES the beach. This will be our day to really enjoy it California style, I pray for good weather cause after this, well have no more car.
6/2 San Diego Zoo! I got the public transportation schedules so we can get ourselves there and back. I hear this place is huge so the Zoo is the only thing on our game plan for the day. Our travels will be ending soon. This is where I will make a point to relax. Id hate to come home from such a fabulous vacation feeling like I never had one at all. (I get to go back to work the morning after we get home-I can already see I'm gonna be good for crap either way.)
6/3 Our last day in Cali
This is the day we go to Sea World. Another public transportation day and then relaxing when were done. SW is another park that our families really love. I cant wait to check it out~ 6/4 is the day we go home. Our flight leaves at 6:30 in the am. Our plane leaves so early the public transportation wont even be running yet. I got the numbers of a couple of shuttle services. Itll cost us about $25 a piece. Not too bad for somebody whos willing to come get us at 4 o clock in the morning.
Our trip is approaching fast and I think we are all ready to go. Once the luggage I ordered from Disney gets here Ill be able to really start packing. As you can see, our itinerary is set. We are looking forward to a fabulous time, this trip is really a dream come true.
Ill have tons of pictures to share and maybe a story or two. If I learned anything from my favorite trip reporters, its if nothing good happens to make something up. I hope you all enjoyed riding this pre-trip journey with me. I certainly enjoyed writing it what comes after? We very soon shall see.
Love You Guys! Mean It!
Catch yall on the flip side~
c.
My DH and I are going to travel the CA coast with a stop at 
